Post by TheStoryTeller on Oct 3, 2006 6:05:28 GMT -5
Stand Up!
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 15:56-58.
John Kasich a former nine-term congressman, and television host has written a new book called: “Stand for Something - The Battle for America’s Soul.” I heard John talking about this on Fox News this morning. He thinks this is the problem with our country that few are standing for anything. But some are. On the one hand, you have people like Pat Tillman who gave up a career, fame and riches of professional football to join the Army Rangers. We know that tragically he died in Afghanistan. On the other hand you have some people in the sports world who will take steroids or other banned substances and lie about it to reach the top of their profession.
This is a battle of good versus evil. A battle of the moral versus the immoral. A battle for lives of hard honest work against instant gratification by whatever means necessary. John Kasich says we who make up this country need to stand for something or this country is going down the tubes. I think what we need to stand for is…Jesus. And that’s exactly what the apostle Paul tells us that we need to do in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” “Stand firm.”
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the United States and you may not think this a Mother’s Day devotional but it is. This is a Mother’s Day devotional, a Father’s Day devotional, an Uncle and Aunt devotional, an how-to-be an American Patriot (or a patriot in your country) devotional all rolled into one. Because you cannot be a good mother, or father, or uncle, or aunt, or a Patriot, or a good son, or daughter unless you stand for something and that something you need to stand for is a person whose name is Jesus Christ.
Consider for a moment the word, “stand.” What does this mean? Here are some definitions that I found:
“to be in an upright position, or put something in an upright position.”
“to remain in a particular place without moving.”
“to resist or bear something without being harmed or damaged.”
“an opinion that somebody has or an attitude that somebody adopts.”
The way Paul uses the word “stand” could include all of those definitions. However, it is in the military sense of the word that Paul is urging us to “stand firm.” Here are two of the definitions of the military use of the word, “stand”: “a halt made, especially by a force that has been retreating, to give battle (As in Custer’s last stand.).” Also, “to fight resolutely or give battle, often after having been in retreat.”
Do you hear what Paul is saying? He is saying to the Corinthians and to us. “Stop the retreat!” “Stop giving in to what this world wants!” “Stop giving in to what the devil wants!” “Stop giving in to the instant gratification, whatever feels good do it philosophy of life!” “Stop it!” “Stand up, and fight!” “Stand up, and fight for what is right, and good!” “…because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58c).”
When you fight, when you stand up for the Lord Jesus your efforts, your witness, your sacrifices are not wasted. They are never in vain and they will be remembered for eternity.
You can make a difference with your life but to do so you are going to have stand up for Jesus. Will you?
Copyright © 2006. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
PRAYER REQUEST: Dear Friends, I am going to have a minor surgery next week to remove a couple of polyps from my vocal cord. I have been having some problems speaking for over a year and it has gotten worse. Hopefully and prayerfully this surgery will solve the problem. Thank you for your prayers and faithfulness!! Ed Wrather.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED: There is an ongoing project of moving material from the old website to the new website but it is time consuming. I have devotionals from April 2002 forward on the new site but still there are a few hundred devotionals that need to be moved. On the old site everything is in plain bold text. However, on the new site it is possible to easily add color, italics, underlining, highlighting and more. It is possible to do all of that on your email client and I do that with new devotionals I write for the html devotional group. You can also easily add the colors etc with a word processing program.
If you would like to help with the project either email the devotionals to me as you update them in your email client or attach the file from your word processor and email to wrather@dobsonteleco.com. Please also write a one to three sentence summary of the devotional and the topic you think the devotional should be placed under. If you see mistakes please note them. Then I can easily add the updated devotionals to the new site. The devotionals are located at the old site in the archives at www.theburningbush.org/33.html At the bottom of the page are the links to additional pages containing the old devotionals. The next devotional to be added was written by my son, The Still Small Voice, 03.11.02. You can look at the devotionals on the new site at www.theburningbush.net and see examples of how I've updated the old devotionals.
Submitted by Richard
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 15:56-58.
John Kasich a former nine-term congressman, and television host has written a new book called: “Stand for Something - The Battle for America’s Soul.” I heard John talking about this on Fox News this morning. He thinks this is the problem with our country that few are standing for anything. But some are. On the one hand, you have people like Pat Tillman who gave up a career, fame and riches of professional football to join the Army Rangers. We know that tragically he died in Afghanistan. On the other hand you have some people in the sports world who will take steroids or other banned substances and lie about it to reach the top of their profession.
This is a battle of good versus evil. A battle of the moral versus the immoral. A battle for lives of hard honest work against instant gratification by whatever means necessary. John Kasich says we who make up this country need to stand for something or this country is going down the tubes. I think what we need to stand for is…Jesus. And that’s exactly what the apostle Paul tells us that we need to do in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” “Stand firm.”
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the United States and you may not think this a Mother’s Day devotional but it is. This is a Mother’s Day devotional, a Father’s Day devotional, an Uncle and Aunt devotional, an how-to-be an American Patriot (or a patriot in your country) devotional all rolled into one. Because you cannot be a good mother, or father, or uncle, or aunt, or a Patriot, or a good son, or daughter unless you stand for something and that something you need to stand for is a person whose name is Jesus Christ.
Consider for a moment the word, “stand.” What does this mean? Here are some definitions that I found:
“to be in an upright position, or put something in an upright position.”
“to remain in a particular place without moving.”
“to resist or bear something without being harmed or damaged.”
“an opinion that somebody has or an attitude that somebody adopts.”
The way Paul uses the word “stand” could include all of those definitions. However, it is in the military sense of the word that Paul is urging us to “stand firm.” Here are two of the definitions of the military use of the word, “stand”: “a halt made, especially by a force that has been retreating, to give battle (As in Custer’s last stand.).” Also, “to fight resolutely or give battle, often after having been in retreat.”
Do you hear what Paul is saying? He is saying to the Corinthians and to us. “Stop the retreat!” “Stop giving in to what this world wants!” “Stop giving in to what the devil wants!” “Stop giving in to the instant gratification, whatever feels good do it philosophy of life!” “Stop it!” “Stand up, and fight!” “Stand up, and fight for what is right, and good!” “…because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58c).”
When you fight, when you stand up for the Lord Jesus your efforts, your witness, your sacrifices are not wasted. They are never in vain and they will be remembered for eternity.
You can make a difference with your life but to do so you are going to have stand up for Jesus. Will you?
Copyright © 2006. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
PRAYER REQUEST: Dear Friends, I am going to have a minor surgery next week to remove a couple of polyps from my vocal cord. I have been having some problems speaking for over a year and it has gotten worse. Hopefully and prayerfully this surgery will solve the problem. Thank you for your prayers and faithfulness!! Ed Wrather.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED: There is an ongoing project of moving material from the old website to the new website but it is time consuming. I have devotionals from April 2002 forward on the new site but still there are a few hundred devotionals that need to be moved. On the old site everything is in plain bold text. However, on the new site it is possible to easily add color, italics, underlining, highlighting and more. It is possible to do all of that on your email client and I do that with new devotionals I write for the html devotional group. You can also easily add the colors etc with a word processing program.
If you would like to help with the project either email the devotionals to me as you update them in your email client or attach the file from your word processor and email to wrather@dobsonteleco.com. Please also write a one to three sentence summary of the devotional and the topic you think the devotional should be placed under. If you see mistakes please note them. Then I can easily add the updated devotionals to the new site. The devotionals are located at the old site in the archives at www.theburningbush.org/33.html At the bottom of the page are the links to additional pages containing the old devotionals. The next devotional to be added was written by my son, The Still Small Voice, 03.11.02. You can look at the devotionals on the new site at www.theburningbush.net and see examples of how I've updated the old devotionals.
Submitted by Richard